A few questions regarding parts

Hi,

I am hoping you can help me?

Yesterday evening I had a small crash and went into the back of a van. Luckily the damage to my car was only cosmetic. I own a red 146 2.0 TI. The part that was damaged was the front grill, which is kind of shaped like a wave (I think I read something about a facelift model?). It has cracked down the middle and I would like to replace it.

Unfortunately my knowledge on cars is basic at best and I have no idea where to go to get it. Naturally price is a big factor so I am apprehensive about going to a main dealer. I also need to replace the black plastic bumper grill as all the pegs that hold it in snapped off during the crash. I am guessing that I will also have to get is sprayed and again I have no idea where to get that done or how much it will cost.

I live in Somerset and the closest Alfa dealer is in Cannington near Bridgwater. Other dealers close by are in Bristol and Exeter. Does anyone know a good place for parts?

While I am getting that done I thought I might as well get a few other things done that have been bothering me since I bought the car 7 months ago. It's a long list but most of it is trivial and doesn't affect the functioning of the car. Any help on these issues would be appreciated:

1. The key doesn't turn in the boot lock, I always have to press the button on the dashboard to open it.

2. The drivers side seatbelt takes ages to go back in and if accidentally pull to hard and it locks then it takes about 10 minutes of fiddling with it to get it unlock.

3. The rear wiper blade just smears the water over the screen and makes it impossible to see. I have tried to replace it but I cannot find a compatible blade. I went to Halfords and got the front wipers but they don't stock wipers with the type of connection on the rear.

4. The front badge is blue and silver and has faded considerably, is this a normal Alfa badge? I would like to replace it if I can find another blue and silver one, otherwise I would like to put on a normal one.

5. The driver side seat cover is torn and I would like to replace it.

6. The accelerator pedal feels loose. When i press it there is about a 5mm gap from the time i put my foot down to when the car starts moving. More annoying than anything really.

7. The water ducts that shoot water onto the windscreen only shoot it about 10cm up the screen and I have to keep by lever pressed to allow the water to spread across the screen. Maybe they are blocked or is this normal?

8. The steering wheel is sticky where the leather has faded away. It not very pleasant to drive. I guess I can get any steering wheel though.

9. When I bring my foot up off the clutch it makes a clunking/thudding sound. The car doesn't jolt or anything it just makes that noise.

10. I know the speedometer has a little pin that stops the needle from reaching 0 but why is that there? Can it be removed?

11. When I start the engine it sounds like a diesel for about 2 seconds and then settles down. I know that something is wrong but I have no idea what because it never used to do it?

Again, I know its a long list so any help would be appreciated. I can provide photos of required.

Thank you

Actually, the front grill looks just like this one:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2.../Engineno4.jpg

It's the bit that is bolted on in the middle and surrounds the headlights.

I hope its ok to use that pic?

Thanks

Originally Posted by kRyToN

2. The drivers side seatbelt takes ages to go back in and if accidentally pull to hard and it locks then it takes about 10 minutes of fiddling with it to get it unlock.

You'll probably have to replace the complete unit - it will fail an MoT on that fault

3. The rear wiper blade just smears the water over the screen and makes it impossible to see. I have tried to replace it but I cannot find a compatible blade. I went to Halfords and got the front wipers but they don't stock wipers with the type of connection on the rear.

You can get a Champion refill from wiperblades.co.uk

5. The driver side seat cover is torn and I would like to replace it.

Try an Alfa dealer - it may still be available. A cheaper option may be to buy a used seat.

6. The accelerator pedal feels loose. When i press it there is about a 5mm gap from the time i put my foot down to when the car starts moving. More annoying than anything really.

You may be able to adjust the cable - that's done at the engine end. Better too loose than too tight, though!

7. The water ducts that shoot water onto the windscreen only shoot it about 10cm up the screen and I have to keep by lever pressed to allow the water to spread across the screen. Maybe they are blocked or is this normal?

Just stick a pin in the jets & adjust as necessary.

10. I know the speedometer has a little pin that stops the needle from reaching 0 but why is that there? Can it be removed?

It's there because the speedo can't give an accurate reading below 10mph!

11. When I start the engine it sounds like a diesel for about 2 seconds and then settles down. I know that something is wrong but I have no idea what because it never used to do it?

Variator!

Thanks for the information. I have ordered the wiper blade and I will check out the rest asap

Hi Dave
What colour are your seats, we have a spare complete set in two tone grey going very cheap but not the matching door cards. It takes less than an hour to swap them all over. Could email you pictures.
With regard to the rear wiper, as Dave recommends, I just slid out the rubber on mine and fitted a refill, my local autoparts shop had them from 99p but I went for a better one to prevent smearing.
If you look under the bonnet, where the throttle cable meets the bracket on the side of the throttle body it has grooves, just pop the circlip plate off, pull the cable slightly tighter and pop the circlip back on in a different groove.
Does your rear screen wash work as the pipe is prone to popping off and just spraying water into the boot lid which might be the reason your lock is playing up. This happened on one of our two 146s. A clean up then fine spray grease onto the moving parts and via a straw into the barrel freed things up.

Sorry lol, meant hi kRyToN

Hi Bren,

The seats are a very dark grey with a stripe pattern in the middle and it says Alfa Romeo on the top part of the seat in red.

As for the rear screen wash I don't think it has ever worked, I wasn't even aware there was one on there. I will have a look and see.

I will also have a look at the cable when I have time (the weekend will be a good time weather permitting).

Thanks

Originally Posted by kRyToN

Actually, the front grill looks just like this one:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2.../Engineno4.jpg

It's the bit that is bolted on in the middle and surrounds the headlights.

I hope its ok to use that pic?

Thanks

No worries about the pic, i post them to help people

You should be able to find a spare at a breakers, but they are quite hard to find, too many pre-facelifts on what is an already Rare car. i can only say good luck.

Ebay can be good for parts too.

Hi Kryton, are you aware that there is an Alfa Indy in Wellington?

More to the point though, where abouts are you in Somerset as I travel down to Taunton every month and maybe could help out with a few of the things you've mentioned.

The seatbelt, wont fail an MOT for what you've mentioned, though it's worth taking a look at as is sounds like the reel may have sliped.

You can just get a rubber to replace the knackered one in your rear wiper from any decent autofactor.

The squirters, is the water straight out at 10cm or is it dribbling out at 10cm? Just stick a pin down the holes and see if that clears them out.

As with changing the seats, DISCONNECT THE BATTERY AND LEAVE FOR 30 MINUTES BEFORE TOUCHING ANYTHING. Or you'll set the airbags off, after replacing either you'll need to get the airbag light reset.

Clutch....That's not right, possible thrust bearing problem there.

The pin HAS TO STAY, otherwise your speedo would lie to you.

Diesel sound on startup is a faulty Timing Variator, no biggie and no need to replace it till you get the timing belt done, though that will be in the region of £400 when needed.... (3 years or 36K whichever is soonest)

Hi Smaky,

No I wasn't aware there is a Alfa Indy in Wellington. I live in Burnham-On-Sea so not far from Taunton.

The squirters shoot straight out but its not very far which is annoying.

The problem with the boot lock it turns out was just me being stupid. It helps if I turn the key the right way

I am looking at a couple of breakers to see if I can find the parts I require. I have found a couple but not in the same colour. Is it possible to get it resprayed so it is the same colour?

I have attached some photo's of my car, the seat and the grill. The grill is cosmetic but if I decide to sell it (Not very likely) then I think it will damage its potential.

Thanks

Yours is a facelift (Ph2) model

Thanks Bren, thats nice to know. It's my first Alfa and I love it but I need to take more care driving it or it will end up on the scrapheap before I know it.

Cheers

The seats we have are out of Donna's pre-facelift model so it was straightforward changing them over. They don't have Alfa Romeo written on them, we changed them over for some black ones with multiple small silver Alfa Romeo logos.

My 146 is a similar shape to yours, has airbag written on the side of the front seats and a fuel cut out switch underneath one. I don't know if they are interchangeable or what extra work is involved. Smaky would be your best man for that info. When I lived in Bedford there was an upholsterers that used to do motorbike & car seat recovering, is there anyone like that down your way-it might be the simplest option on the seat front.

Thanks bren,

The seat isn't a big problem at the moment when compared to the grill and some of the other things like the seatbelt and the steering wheel. Its not very nice to drive when my thumb sticks to the wheel especially when its hot.

Everything depends on the cost though. I am waiting for a quote from the garage my insurance company contacted for me. They are called Avalon Motor Company in Glastonbury.

Can I get a new grill from an Alfa dealer and then get is sprayed?

Oh, Avalon, oh dear, I hope they are onlt doing bodywork for you as I would not trust them with any Alfa mechanicals. Really, only Idys and stealers should touch your pride and joy as these cars have quirks to them that other manufacturers just dont understand.

Your squirters will just need realigning, stick a pin in the hole and wiggle them till they hit the window where you want it.

The seats all wear where yours have, mine are identical to yours and have the same wear. The thing is that if you change the seats you need to reset the airbag light and really, it's not worth the hassle for such minor wear.

For the grille, you could try Dans Breakers in Bridgwater, they're your side of that hole and you may have probably tried there anyway.

I can sympathise about the steering wheel, mine has gone the same as has the gear knob. The soft leather doesn't seem to tolerate outdoor worker's rough hands. When I helped Jai strip his 146 for breaking I removed his wheel and airbag because you have to slide the ignition barrel up off the steering column to remove it. There is what seems like miles of ribbon cable to rewind into a groove when you re-fit them and as Smaky said the battery has to be removed for ages before hand so the airbag doesn't trigger although clamping the 2 battery terminals together helps drain all the capacitors down quicker.

Unfortunately Jai's very tidy steering wheel went with the shell to the crusher. I have seen some Momo wooden wheels from 156s which apparently fit 146s too on ebay from £40 upwards, that's what I plan on fitting with a matching gear knob when all the more important jobs are finished on mine but I have a full tan leather Momo interior so they shouldn't look out of place.

I have a steam cleaner and the black seats came up like new before I fitted them into Donna's car yesterday. I will clean her original seats before they go, if anyone wants them for £20 each or £35 for the whole lot then let me know as it takes a couple of days for them to dry right out. This picture shows the pattern better.

A few weeks ago I came across a specialist 145/6 breaker somewhere around the Rugby area who had a couple of facelift models in with blown engines so he might have the bumpers and trims you're after, I will have a look to see if I can find his contact details again. I don't know whether this is a facelift car but hope it might be of some help;